Administrative Fines Imposed by the Ministry of Trade Increased by 43.93%
Forex - Administrative fines applied in the audits of the Ministry of Commerce will increase by 43.93% starting from January 1, 2025.
According to the statement made by the Ministry of Commerce, in cases of non-compliance with the legal obligations set to ensure complete and accurate information is provided to consumers regarding price tags and price lists of goods offered for sale in retail businesses, the administrative penalty, which was applied at 2,200 TL for each violation in 2024, will be 3,166 TL in 2025.
To prevent post-sale victimization of consumers, a new administrative fine of 1,604,819 TL will be imposed in the new year on producers and importers who do not obtain a post-sale Service Competency Certificate.
The statement provided the following information: "The administrative fine applied to producers and importers who fail to obtain the Service Competency Certificate required from the Ministry of Commerce, which was 1,115,000 TL in 2024, has been determined as 1,604,819 TL for 2025.
For producers and importers who do not meet the minimum number of service stations during the validity period of the post-sale service competency certificate, the fine for each missing service station, which was 124,000 TL in 2024, will be 178,473 TL in 2025. For producers or importers that fail to record or update information regarding authorized service stations in the system created by the Ministry of Commerce, the fine of 18,000 TL for each service station, which was applied in 2024, will be 25,907 TL in 2025.
In cases where the maximum repair time is exceeded and maintenance and repair services are not provided in accordance with the regulations, the fine for each violation, which was set at 2,200 TL in 2024, will be 3,166 TL in 2025. The fine for sellers who fail to arrange the guarantee certificate and the Turkish promotional and user manual or arrange them incompletely, violate legal regulations, or do not deliver the guarantee certificate and the Turkish promotional and user manual to the consumer at all or in compliance with the regulations, was 2,172 TL in 2024 and will be 3,126 TL in 2025.
For service stations that operate independently of any producer or importer, if they do not visibly and legibly use the phrase "special service" in all their media and activities, the administrative fine of 18,000 TL applied to special service stations in 2024 will be 25,907 TL in 2025.
Additionally, regarding goods that require a renewal authorization certificate, if renewal activities are carried out without the certificate, the administrative fine, which was 1,766,274 TL in 2024, will be 2,542,198 TL in 2025. For violations and deficiencies detected in the sale of renewed products, the fine for each transaction, which was 1,765 TL in 2024, will be 2,540 TL in 2025.
If credit cards without membership fees are not offered to consumers, the relevant institutions will face an administrative fine of 55,006,905 TL, which will increase to 79,171,438 TL in 2025. For violations in consumer credit and housing financing contracts regarding the law’s right of withdrawal, interest rates, early payment, default, and requiring unjust and unwarranted insurance, fees, and expenses from consumers in exchange for loan usage, the administrative fine of 10,978 TL for each violating contract or transaction applied in 2024 will be 15,800 TL in 2025.
In electronic commerce, for remote contracts involving consumers, violations regarding the right of withdrawal and rights preventing arbitrary and unjustified order cancellations by the seller, for each violation or contract, the fine, which was 2,200 TL in 2024, will be 3,166 TL in 2025. For intermediary service providers who fail to establish and maintain a reliable system for consumers to convey and track their requests and notifications, the fine of 3,532,548 TL in 2024 will rise to 5,084,396 TL in 2025.
Regarding subscription contracts for essential goods or services such as electricity, water, and electronic communications, for violations of the notification and consent obligations, the prohibition of automatic renewal of expired subscription contracts, changes that affect the consumer unfavorably in commitment conditions, and failure to fulfill contract termination requests within seven days, the administrative fine, which was 2,200 TL for each contract or transaction in 2024, will be 3,166 TL in 2025.
For installment sales contracts and package tour contracts with consumers, each violation or contract, which was fined 2,200 TL in 2024, will also be raised to 3,166 TL in 2025. For violations related to timeshare contracts, the fine for each contract or transaction, which was 12,363 TL in 2024, will increase to 17,794 TL in 2025.
For sellers who fail to fulfill the collateral obligation in Prepaid Housing Sales Contracts, the administrative fine applied at 5,500,667 TL in 2024 will be 7,917,110 TL in 2025. The fine for each contract or transaction that violates the provisions related to prepaid housing sales contracts, which was 10,978 TL in 2024, will be 15,800 TL in 2025. For each uncompleted housing, the fine will rise from 247,278 TL in 2024 to 355,907 TL in 2025. Those who sell housing to consumers in advance without obtaining a construction permit will face a fine of 1,100,122 TL in 2024, which will become 1,583,405 TL in 2025. The fine for sellers who do not fulfill the collateral obligation will increase from 5,500,667 TL in 2024 to 7,917,110 TL in 2025.
On the other hand, under the provisions of Temporary Article 3 added to the Law No. 6502 by Article 17 of Law No. 7392 published in the Official Gazette dated April 1, 2022, the administrative fines that should be applied in situations requiring administrative fines according to the regulations of Law No. 6502 before the said amendment will also be increased at the revaluation rate."